Better Than Nothing
by bandgeek18
Summary: Roy meets Oliver's uncle and things don't go as planned. One-shot.


A/N: So for anyone who doesn't know at one point, the continuity had Oliver's parents dying when he was young (mauled by lions in case you were wondering) and he was raised by his uncle. So this story exists in that continuity if that matters. If not, then read on, because I love these archers. WARNINGS: swearing, verbal abuse, and implied child abuse. Let me know what you think!

Roy was halfway through simultaneously pulling the off the sweater of his school uniform and throwing his bag onto the counter when he saw Oliver. His guardian paced back and forth in the kitchen, lost in thought. "Uh….Ollie?" Roy asked in confusion. No reply. "Oliver? Oliver!"

"Huh?!" Oliver turned around and his eyes widened in shock when he saw Roy. "What're you doing here?"

"I live here."

"Shouldn't you be at school?"

"….It's 3:30."

Oliver looked at his watch. "Already? Damn…" He started rubbing his hair with his hand.

"You've been acting weird all week. Even by your standards. Why?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh." Roy finished pulling off his sweater, then made a beeline to the pantry for a snack. "What's on your mind?"

"….We have someone coming over for dinner tonight."

"Who? Dinah?"

"My uncle."

"Uncle?" Roy stopped with his snack halfway to his mouth. "Your uncle? Like…the guy who raised you? That guy?"

"Yes. That guy."

"Why?"

Oliver seemed to sigh in irritation. "I assume it's because we haven't spoken in over a year, so maybe he wants to… reconnect."

'He hasn't spoken to his uncle in over a year?!' Roy blinked and took a bite of his snack. "When will he be here?"

"He should be here by 6."

"So, no patrol tonight?"

"You got it. And I want you to be on your best behavior tonight."

"Aren't I always?"

"Roy."

"Fine, best behavior with manners and everything."

"Thank you. Now go do your homework." Oliver watched as Roy grabbed his backpack and disappeared toward the stairs. 'God help me. This will be a long night.'

— —

It was a true testament to how serious Roy took his promise to behave, because he didn't even fight when Oliver had insisted that he wear a button-down shirt. It was a type of shirt his guardian wore daily, but Roy always preferred regular t-shirts. 'It's one night, and for Ollie.' And not that he would've ever acknowledge it, but he wanted to make a good impression on Oliver's uncle. After all, he was the only family Oliver had and Oliver was more or less family for Roy. 'It's Ollie's only living blood relative. I have to at least be polite.' He glanced at Oliver who kept rubbing his goatee, one of his nervous tics. "Relax, Ollie. I know you haven't seen your uncle in a while, but I'm sure he's happy to see you." Oliver didn't say anything but simply kept rubbing his facial hair. He only stopped when the doorbell rang.

Oliver sighed low and steeled himself. Once he did that, he looked at Roy. "Remember, best behavior."

"I got it, Ollie."

"Ok." Oliver seemed to hesitate for a moment before he nodded. "Ok. Ok." He approached the door and opened it. Roy peeked around him to see an older man with silver hair and steely green eyes. One of his thin hands clutched the top of a fancy cane and there was an… aura of unfriendliness about him.

"Oliver," the man said in greeting, eyes surveying his nephew with a critical eye.

"Uncle Daniel." Oliver stepped aside so his uncle could enter.

"You need to shave."

Oliver simply shut the door. "Uncle Daniel, this is Roy. Roy, this is Daniel Queen, my uncle."

"It's nice to meet you," Roy said, holding out his hand. Daniel simply looked at him, his lip curled, then he turned back to Oliver.

"You look like a hobo with that on your face," he said simply before walking toward the dining room.

'Rude…' Roy thought as he followed Oliver. 'Maybe he just needs to get used to me.' However, he didn't have a lot of chances to talk to Daniel Queen. The old man ignored Roy for the entirety of dinner, focusing all of his attention on Oliver instead. It irritated Roy at first, but then he decided it didn't matter. After all, Daniel was here to see Oliver. Just listening to the conversation did give Roy one strange observation though. Daniel kept insulting Oliver. A lot.

"You'd have better luck if you weren't such a moron," Daniel commented about some business thing the two of them were discussing. "Even an idiot like you should be able to close a deal like this."

"It's not as easy as it sounds, Uncle-"

"It's only difficult to the slow, Oliver. I see those boarding schools I sent you to were a waste. Controlling your father's company is the only job you've ever had, you'd think you'd be somewhat competent at it."

'Is he serious?!' Roy wondered, bewildered. It wasn't like he'd never heard anyone call Oliver stupid before, but this was different. It wasn't like when Justice League members did it, with a light or sarcastic tone. This felt more…cruel. 'Why?! He's Ollie's uncle.' Roy was tempted to ask but decided against it because Oliver had asked him to be good. So he stayed quiet and just kept listening. It got harder to listen when they started discussing something else business related and Oliver's uncle continued to demean and insult Oliver.

"Maybe if you spent less time with all your little…charity cases," he definitely glanced at Roy at that last part. "you'd have more success."

"….Uncle," Oliver said, sighing as he talked. "The charity work is important to me-"

"Being a successful businessman should be important to you."

"There are more important things than making obscene amounts of money."

"I knew Robert was too lenient with you. Our father wasn't coddling us when we were young and neither of us turned out to be socialists."

"I'm not-"

"Don't talk back to me, boy."

'Boy?' Roy thought. He looked down at his plate to hide the confused frown that crossed his features. 'Ollie's like….a million years old! It's not like he's a kid.' The more dinner went on, the more Roy's shock at Daniel's attitude turned to anger.

"You can't spend your whole life acting like a spoiled brat, Oliver," Daniel said not much later. "You need to stop pouring so much time and energy into these hopeless charity cases," another not subtle look at Roy, "and focus on not ruining any more of your father's company."

"I'm not ruining anything," Oliver replied in a tired voice. "If you would just see things my way, Uncle Daniel-"

"I don't need to see anything your way, tree-hugger. First, you were drinking and partying, having sex— it's a miracle you don't have a bunch of bastards running around this city— and now you're wasting all your time with worthless projects." And yet another not subtle look at Roy. The teen had to grit his teeth behind closed lips and focused on the rest of his steak. "You'd think your little island vacation would've knocked some sense into you."

"It wasn't a vacation, I was thrown overboard from my own boat and I barely survived. And I'm sure you were so upset to learn I was alive."

"Don't tell me what I think, moron. Self-centered brats like you should be drowned like kittens anyways." Both men jumped when the blunt end of Roy's knife banged against the tabletop. Oliver looked at the teen in surprise, while Daniel gave Roy a look like he was a stain on an expensive carpet. "You should teach him some manners, Oliver."

'I have manners, unlike some people,' Roy thought, his eyes ablaze with anger. He stared down the old man across the table from him with a defiant glint, daring him to keep talking.

"Why don't we go relax in the den?" Oliver suggested, sounding a tad desperate, which nearly distracted Roy. "Hm? Roy." The teen finally broke eye contact with Daniel and looked at his guardian. Oliver gave him a look and Roy took a deep breath then looked down at his plate.

'Ollie said to behave,' Roy thought with his teeth clenched. 'Even though I can feel that jerk's gloating right now because he thinks he won…. Ollie said to behave.' Roy took another deep breath, then looked at Oliver. "Yeah, Ollie, let's go to the den."

"Uncle Daniel?"

"Hmm," Daniel hummed, already pushing his chair back. "Take care of these dishes, vagabond."

Roy frowned. 'Does he mean me?' Indeed, the old jerk was and Oliver just stared at his plate! 'Behave…. Ollie said to behave….' Roy ground his teeth and glared. "Sure. I'll do that." His teeth kept grinding together as he started picking up the plates. Oliver put his hand on the teen's shoulder, but Roy brushed it off and gave his guardian a hard look. 'Stupid Oliver, stupid Daniel,' Roy thought as he scraped the plates and put them in the sink.'Why did Oliver have to invite him here anyway? Why does this ass get to say all that stuff about me and Ollie and Oliver just….says nothing?! He's not exactly a quiet man.' When he'd dropped the last dish into the sink, Roy leaned on the edge and put his head between his arms. 'But he is Oliver's uncle. His last living, blood-relative. I guess it makes sense that he'd be more… lenient. And I should just suck it up until the night is finished. Maybe I can try to go to bed early or something.' Roy pushed himself up with a deep sigh then joined Oliver and Daniel in the den.

Both men were sitting in armchairs and drinking some kind of liquor, so Roy just plopped himself down on a love seat that was just out of the way enough to keep him out of anyone's direct line of sight. He crossed his arms and slumped down, watching Oliver talk to his uncle. He tried to ignore the conversation, but the constant jabs at Oliver and his competency kept dragging in his attention.

"You should learn to focus on the right priorities, Oliver," Daniel said condescendingly.

"I have priorities-" Oliver began but was interrupted.

"Not the right ones. Which is obvious when it concerns to your father's company. Although I shouldn't be surprised, given how stupid you are."

Roy glared down at his lap and ground his teeth. 'Behave,' he reminded himself mentally. He could feel his hands trying to curve into fists. 'Ollie said to behave!'

"It's not Dad's company anymore, it's mine," Oliver said in a stiff tone.

"Right," Daniel replied. "And who's fault is that?"

Roy stopped breathing.

The teen didn't breathe, he didn't move or talk. It felt like every cell in his body was frozen in fury. '…..Tell me that bastard didn't just say what I thought he said!'

"Uncle Daniel-" Oliver began but was once again interrupted.

"Don't give me excuses. We all know how at fault you are. Your father would be ashamed of the worthless, entitled man-child his son grew up to become-"

"Shut up!" Roy snapped as he jumped to his feet. "Shut the hell up!" His shaking hands were balled at his sides and every muscle in his body was tense. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"You-"

"I didn't want an answer, asshole! You can't talk to Ollie like that! You do nothing but insult him and then you blame him for- And how dare you say his father would've been ashamed of him! Ollie isn't perfect, but he does a hell of a lot more for the city than most people know, including you! And if Oliver's dad should be ashamed of anything, it's how horrible his brother is!"

No one spoke for what felt like the longest time after he finished. Eventually, face tinged with red, Daniel looked at Oliver. "Well…" he said to his nephew, who rested his head in his hand. "Do something!"

"Go to bed," Oliver said, his voice tired.

"Bed?!" Roy stuttered. 'I'm defending Oliver and he's sending me to bed?!' What had he done wrong?! "But, Ollie-"

"I said go to bed." Roy looked at Oliver and was taken aback by how tired and pleading he looked. "Now, Roy."

"Yes, Ollie." Even if going to bed early was what he'd wanted earlier, Roy's stomach twisted when he thought about leaving Oliver alone down here. 'He looks so stressed though. I should just go.' He could feel the smug and angry look he got from Daniel.

"You need to teach him some respect," Daniel said to Oliver as Roy passed him. "Unless you want him to be a worthless leech on society. Like you."

Roy spun on his heel to glare at the old man. "You're just jealous that Oliver is a quarter of your age and three times the man you are!" No one said anything for a few tense seconds and the only movement was when Oliver put his head in his hands. After a few more seconds, Daniel stood. The creaking of his chair made Oliver look at him. Roy glared at the old man, unafraid and willing to pick a fight. Then Roy blinked and pain slammed into the side of his face. Next thing he knew he was on the ground. Roy blinked and put a hand to his face and winced at the stinging there. His fingertips jumped off his tingling skin with a thin layer of blood covering them. "Did… Did you just hit me?!"

Daniel opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Oliver was in front of him; standing between Roy and Daniel. He held his uncle's arm in a nearly vice-like grip. "Oliver, let go-"

"Leave," Oliver growled.

"….Excuse me?!"

"I said, leave! Get out of my home! I don't care if you are my uncle, you do not have the right to put your hands on my kid!" Careful not to hurt the older man, but also not being gentle, Oliver maneuvered him away from Roy and out of the room. "You came here and hit my- He's a child, Uncle Daniel!" Oliver only let go when they were standing by the front door. He opened it. "Whatever problems you have with me, and I can't possibly imagine what those might be, you should've left him out of it."

"You're going to choose that orphan brat over your own blood?!"

"In a heartbeat." Oliver held his uncle's gaze for a long moment.

"Fine. After everything, I did for you-"

"Don't worry, I won't be forgetting." Once his uncle left, Oliver slammed the door shut. He leaned against the closed door for several minutes, just breathing.

"Ollie?" a quiet voice behind him asked, which caused him to jump. Oliver spun around and found Roy standing behind him in the front hall. The teen gave his guardian a cautious look. "Are you ok?"

Instead of answering, Oliver's eyes found the bleeding scrape surrounded by darkening skin on Roy's cheek. Oliver sighed, then walked forward and cupped Roy's face with a gentle hand. "Looks like it hurts."

"… Yeah."

Oliver nodded. "Mhm." He put an arm around Roy's shoulders as he led him into the kitchen. He patted the counter and Roy hopped up to sit on the countertop. The teen watched in silence as Oliver retrieved an icepack from the freezer and a wet paper towel. Without saying anything Oliver pressed the paper towel against Roy's cheek, which made the teen wince.

"I'm sorry…." Roy said in a quiet voice after a few minutes.

"No reason to apologize, kid."

"You asked me to behave-"

"I told you there's nothing to apologize for." Oliver's voice wasn't angry, just tired. He pulled the paper towel off and looked at the cut. "It's just a shallow scrape. That's definitely going to bruise darker though."

"What about school on Monday? What if people ask about it?"

"Just tell them that you were playing in the woods behind the mansion and ran into a tree branch."

Roy winced as Oliver put an icepack on his cheek. "No one's going to believe that."

"They will. Just be upfront about it and make it sound like it embarrassed you. It'll work, trust me."

Roy was quiet for a few seconds, then he said, "No offense, Ollie, but your uncle is kind of an asshole."

"Yeah, he is."

'An asshole who's Oliver's only living blood-relative,' a voice in Roy's head whispered.

The teen's eyes widened. 'Oh shit, that's right. Damn, poor, Ollie. His parents died and that jerk got to raise him-' Roy froze. 'Holy shit, has he always been like that? Did Oliver spend his entire childhood listening to that bullshit?!' If so, Roy felt like he had an understanding of why Oliver's adolescence and early adulthood had gone the way it had. "Has he always been so…?"

"Yes. I think he always jealous of my father's success and when he his chance to run the company, let's just say he wasn't happy to hand it over to a drunk 22-year-old playboy. Raising me on the other hand… He was much more happy to send me boarding school after boarding school instead of ever deal with me. Which is definitely where I preferred to be most of the time."

'Poor Ollie,' Roy thought. 'He's had the worst luck, stuck with that bastard for years. No wonder he wasn't fighting back-' He frowned as something occurred to him. 'Oliver knew what excuses I could make about my face and he preferred to be away from his uncle.' Roy had wondered many times why Oliver had given into so many vices at a young age. At that moment though, he felt like he had an answer. A question he wanted to ask leaped to the tip of his tongue…but he bit it back. 'He'll never tell me the truth,' Roy thought as Oliver moved the icepack to look at his face, then replaced it. "I'm sorry, Ollie."

Oliver looked at him, then the floor. "Me too, kid. Me too."

Roy leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his guardian. "You're not as bad as he says."

"Thanks, kid." Oliver returned the gesture. "Neither are you."

'His only living relative,' Roy thought. "I'd rather have no living relatives than that jerk of an uncle."

"I'm sure."

"But…we aren't alone you and me. I mean….we have each other. We're not family, but it's better than nothing."

Oliver smiled. "You've got a point there, Roy. You've definitely got a point there."


End file.
